Bison attack two more Yellowstone visitors

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Photos:Yellowstone: Our first national park

Yellowstone: Our first national park – Old Faithful Geyser may be the most-famous "resident" of Yellowstone National Park, but park ranger Dan Hottle says there is much more to see at the 2.2 million-acre park.

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Photos:Yellowstone: Our first national park

Yellowstone: Our first national park – Yellowstone National Park was the nation's first national park, established by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Ulysses S. Grant on March 1, 1872. It's predominantly in Wyoming but also touches Idaho and Montana. Check in next week for Arches National Park.

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Photos:Yellowstone: Our first national park

Castle Geyser – Castle Geyster just in the same basin as Old Faithful.

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Photos:Yellowstone: Our first national park

Yellowstone: Our first national park – Grand Prismatic Spring is Hottle's favorite spring in the park, and it's in Midway Geyser Basin about five miles from Old Faithful. When the light is right, hike up one of the mountains surrounding the spring and you'll see the steam change colors because of the spring's bacteria.

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Photos:Yellowstone: Our first national park

Yellowstone: Our first national park – There's a good chance of spotting wolves on the drive to the Lamar Valley, Hottle says. He likes to stop at a pullout about halfway to the valley and hike into the woods, where he can sometimes see a wolf or its pack. (Hottle found this wolf in his backyard.)

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Photos:Yellowstone: Our first national park

Yellowstone: Our first national park – Rangers plead with with visitors to pull off the road to shoot pictures of bison (shown here in the Lamar Valley) or other wildlife that call Yellowstone home. Travelers have been known to stop their cars in the middle of the road to look at the view, or worse: look sideways to admire the nature while driving.

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Photos:Yellowstone: Our first national park

Yellowstone: Our first national park – In elk mating season, which starts around September, the bulls come down from the mountains and gather up as many cows (female elk) as they can into harems. Shown here is a harem of 27 cows resting in Mammoth Hot Springs near the town post office. Visitors are cautioned to stay at least 25 yards away from the elk, which have been known to ram cars and trap people.

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Photos:Yellowstone: Our first national park

Yellowstone: Our first national park – Hottle recommends that hikers travel in groups of at least three, stay on designated trails, carry bear pepper spray and make noise as they hike to avoid surprising bears (mother bears can attack when surprised). He and his family have hiked "every inch" of Electric Peak, a nearly 11,000-foot mountain.

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Photos:Yellowstone: Our first national park

Glacier National Park – Hottle also loves visiting Glacier National Park in Montana, a nine-hour drive by car. "There's a wildness about Glacier that makes it even more dangerous and adventurous than Yellowstone," he said. Glacier's Wild Goose Island is shown here.

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Story highlights

Four people have been attacked by Yellowstone bison this year

Visitors are asked to stay at least 25 yards away from large animals in the park

(CNN)Bison attacked two more visitors at Yellowstone National Park over the past week, for a total of four attacks in the park so far this season.

A 68-year-old Georgia woman remained hospitalized Thursday after encountering a bison while hiking Wednesday on Storm Point Trail, according to the National Park Service.

As she passed the bison, it charged and gored her. A witness reported the attack to a nearby ranger leading a hike, who called for help. Due to the serious nature of the woman's injuries, she was taken by helicopter ambulance to a hospital outside the park. Her condition was unknown Thursday.

The other incident happened on June 23, when a 19-year-old Georgia woman and three friends who work at nearby Canyon Village were walking to their car after a late-night swim at the Firehole River. They saw a bison lying about 10 feet away, and one friend turned and ran. But the animal charged the teen and "tossed her in the air," the park service said.

After the teen went to bed, she awoke a short time later feeling ill and called for medical help. She took an ambulance to a hospital outside the park and "was released with minor injuries later that day," the park service said.

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Bison can sprint three times faster than humans can run, park officials say.

Four incidents in less than two months is a lot more than usual, Yellowstone spokeswoman Amy Bartlett said. "We usually have one to two incidents per year," she said.

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On June 2, a 62-year-old Australian man visiting Yellowstone was seriously injured after getting too close to a bison near Old Faithful Lodge.

The man was reportedly within 5 feet of the bison while taking pictures when the animal charged him and tossed him into the air several times, according to park reports. The man was taken to a hospital for further medical treatment.